Information storage device

ABSTRACT

An information storage device having a first part such as an insert on which information is provided and a second part comprising a holder for the first part, whereby the first part may be stored in the second part. The edges of the first and second parts may be provided with lips for mating together to provide interlocking parts whereby the first part may be pulled outwardly to expose the information thereon but is prevented from being completely separated from the holder.

The present invention relates to an improved information storage device,particularly but not exclusively for containing information for storagein a pocket, wallet or the like.

It is often beneficial to have information supplied on cards or foldedsheets which can be carried in a handbag, wallet or pocket of the usersuch that the information is readily to hand, for example in the form ofbusiness cards, maps, timetables and the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedinformation storage device for containing information for storage in awallet, pocket or the like.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an information storagedevice comprising a first part on which information is provided and asecond part comprising a holder for the first part, whereby the firstpart may be stored in the second part.

The first part may be a single sheet bearing information on one or bothsides. Preferably, the first part is in the form of a folded sheetprovided by a sheet having a plurality of tranverse and longitudinalfold lines whereby the sheet may be folded and unfolded between acompact and expanded state. The folded sheet is dimnensioned to fitwithin the second part in the compact state.

Alternatively, the first part may be in the form of an insert which isslidable into and out of the second part. Information may be displayedon the insert or, more preferably, a folded sheet is adhered to theinsert having information displayed thereon.

The insert is preferably in the form of a generally rectangular section,being of the same, or slightly smaller, size as the second part of thedevice. Preferably, an edge of the insert is provided with a tab toassist in removal of the insert from said second part. The provision ofan insert for attachment of the folded sheet allows the insert to bequickly and easily replaced with a different insert, such as one havinga sheet displaying alternative information thereon.

Alternatively or additionally, the folded sheet may be detachable fromthe insert or second part. The sheet may be provided with means forallowing temporary engagement with a part of the insert or second partof the device. For example, the folded sheet containing the requiredinformation may be adhered to a front section of a folded piece of card.The rear of the folded card may then be inserted into a wallet which isadhered to an insert. The wallet preferably comprises two pieces ofplastics material which are sealed around all sides except one to allowinsertion of the rear section of the folded card. Preferably, theintended top or outer side of the wallet is provided with the openingfor insertion of the folded card. Alternatively, the sheet may beadhered to a rectangular piece of material having a tab extending fromone edge thereof. A part of the insert or cover may be provided with aslot therethrough and a die-cut pocket forming a tab. In this manner thetab of the material having the sheet attached thereto may be insertedthrough the slot and the leading edge of the material may be retainedbehind the tab formed by the die-cut pocket. Alternatively, the tab maybe provided on the insert or cover for insertion in a slot providedthrough the material carrying the folded sheet. Similarly, the insertmay be detachable from the cover by means of the same mechanism.

The second part of the information storage device is preferably in theform of a cover having a front section and a rear section to provide asleeve or pocket for receiving said first part. Preferably, the cover isgenerally rectangular in plan view, being provided with a fold linethrough the centre thereof to define the front section and the rearsection. The cover may be provided with means for securing the frontsection to the rear section, for example the rear section may beprovided with a die-cut pocket for forming a tab whereby the leadingedge of the front section may be retained. The sheet may be adhered tothe inner side of the rear section, for example by an adhesive placedover a corner section of the sheet, preferably the top left hand cornersection.

Ideally, the cover is provided with a retaining lip along at least oneedge thereof for mating with a lip provided on an edge of the firstpart, preferably being provided on the insert. It is preferable toprovide the lip on the leading edge of the front or rear section beingfolded inwardly to mate with a lip provided on the edge of the insertopposite the tab thereby providing an interlocking insert and cover. Thelips serve to resist the insert from being pulled free of the cover.Alternatively, two retaining lips may be provided on opposite edges ofthe front or rear section of the cover. The lips may extend along thelength of the sides of the section or, more preferably, extend alongonly a part thereof. Preferably, the lips are provided at the free endof the rear or front section. Alternatively, a strip may extend acrossfrom opposite sides of the front or rear section to act as a retaininglip.

The lip of the cover may be provided with an extension, for example inthe form of a strip which, in the assembled state, extends inwardlytowards the centre fold line of the cover. The fold line between the lipand rectangular section of the insert may be provided with a slot forpassage of the strip. This allows the insert to be pulled outwardly fromthe cover to expose the folded sheet but prevents the insert from beingcompletely separated from the cover. Alternatively, the strip couldextend from the fold line of the cover, being provided with a tab at thefree end thereof to retain the insert on the slot but allowing a degreeof movement along the strip to enable exposure of the folded sheet.

In an alternative embodiment, a separate retaining strap may be providedfor slidably mounting the first part with respect to said second part.For example, the strap may be comprised of three sections, a narrowsection, a middle wider section and a flange. The flange retains thestrap on the insert and the narrow section may be inserted through aslot provided in the cover, the end of the narrow section being bentover to prevent the strap becoming free of the components.

Ideally, a case is provided to receive said first and second parts ofthe information storage device, for example being made of a plasticsmaterial. Preferably, the second part remains in the case and theinformation is displayed by pulling the insert by means of the tab.Preferably, the interlocking lips and/or strip and slot of the cover andinsert prevent the insert from being completely removed from the case.This allows the first part carrying the information to be easily placedback inside the second part and case for storage purposes.

The first and/or second part may also be provided with one or more flapsalong a side thereof for attachment of an additional folded sheet.

It is to be appreciated that the folded sheet should be made of alightweight paper which may be contained within the second part and/orcase but which retains fold lines therein for repeated folding andunfolding thereof. The insert and cover may be made of a cardboardwhich, although rigid has a degree of flexibility or any other suitablematerial, such as polypropylene or polyvinylchloride.

The cover, insert and/or case may be supplied without the folded sheet,the insert or case being provided with a double-sided adhesive or othermeans for attachment of a folded sheet containing the requiredinformation. The insert may also be supplied with a folded sheet forreplacement of an insert.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show moreclearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made byway of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1a to 1 d are schematic diagrams of an information storage deviceaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a top plan view of a second part of the information storagedevice according to second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2b is a top plan view of a first part of the storage device shownin FIG. 2a, having a folded sheet attached thereto;

FIG. 2c is a top plan view of the components shown in FIG. 2a and 2 bassembled together;

FIG. 2d is a cross-sectional view of the components shown in FIG. 2c;

FIGS. 3a to 3 d are top plan views of an information storage deviceaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3e and 3 f are schematic perspective views of the device shown inFIGS. 3a to 3 d;

FIGS. 3g and 3 h are schematic cross-sectional views of the device shownin FIGS. 3e and 3 f;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an information storage device accordingto a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5a to 5 d are schematic diagrams of a fifth embodiment of thepresent invention,

FIG. 6 is schematic diagram of the components of a sixth embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 7a to 7 c are schematic diagrams of the components of a first partof an information storage device according to a seventh embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 8a to 8 e are schematic diagrams of the components of aninformation storage device according to an eighth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 9a and 9 b are schematic diagrams of the components of aninformation storage device according to a ninth embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIGS. 10a and 10 b are schematic diagrams of a second part of aninformation storage device according to a tenth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 1a to 1 d of the accompanying drawings illustrate one embodimentof an information storage device according to the present invention. Thedevice has a second part in the form of a cover 4 comprised of arectangular sheet which is provided with a fold line 6 through thecentre thereof to define a front section 7 and a rear section 8. Therear section has a folded sheet 10 adhered to the intended inner sidethereof which may be encased by folding the front section over the rearsection (see FIG. 1a).

The sheet 10 is provided with a series of transverse and longitudinalcrease lines, designated 12 and 14 respectively, which divide the sheetinto fifteen regular sections 16 and three smaller sections 18 (see FIG.1b). The longitudinal crease lines 14 define three transverse sections,designated a, b and c respectively. The sheet is folded into the fullyfolded state (FIG. 1d) by folding the sheet along the transverse creasessuch that adjacent longitudinal sections are brought into communicationwith each other (see FIG. 1c). The smaller sections 18 are also foldedalong the transverse crease line to bring the smaller section intocommunication with the adjacent longitudinal larger section 16 (see FIG.1c) The outer section c may then be folded inwardly to cause the middlesection b and outer section to lie over the inner section a (see FIG.1b) thereby forming a compact folded sheet which may be contained withinthe cover 4.

The folded sheet may be opened out by carrying out the aforementionedsteps in reverse order. The front section 7 of the cover 4 is pulledoutwardly to expose the folded sheet 10. The comer of the outer smallsection 18 c of the folded sheet provides a tab 20 for unfolding thesheet. The sheet is firstly pulled across to expose the first threelarger sections (FIG. 1c) and then pulled downwardly to open out thewhole sheet. The sheet may contain any useful information, such asadvertising material, business details or a map, spreading over theentire surface thereof. Alternatively, the information may be dividedinto sections, for example, appearing on the front section of the fullyfolded sheet (FIG. 1d), across the partially folded sheet (FIG. 1c)and/or over the entire surface of the unfolded sheet (FIG. 1b). Thefolded sheet encased in the cover may be easily placed in a wallet orpocket for convenient use. The encased sheet may also be inserted into aprotective sleeve, for example, of a plastics or cardboard material (notshown).

FIGS. 2a to 2 d of the accompanying drawings illustrate an alternativeembodiment of the present invention. The cover 30 again comprises afront section 32 and a rear section 34 separated by fold lines 36 butthe rear section is also provided with a lip 38 along the leading edgethereof which is separated therefrom by fold lines 40. The lip is foldedinwardly to lie over the rear section and the front section is foldedinwardly to lie over the rear section and the lip.

An insert 42 is provided for placing within the cover. The insert has agenerally rectangular section having a lip 44 at one end thereof and atab 46 at the opposite end. The lip is separated from the rectangularsection by a fold line 48. The intended inner side of the rectangularsection has a folded sheet 10 adhered thereto, as described hereinbeforein relation to FIGS. 1a to 1 d. The insert is placed within the cover 30such that the lip 44 of the insert abuts the intended inner edge of thelip 38, as shown in FIGS. 2c and 2 d. In this manner, the front and rearsection of the cover may be held together to allow the insert to slideoutwardly to expose the folded sheet 10 but preventing the insert frombeing completely removed from the cover due to the provision of theinterlocking lips, thereby enabling the insert and folded sheet to beeasily slid back inside the cover after use for storage purposes.

The cover 30 may,be contained within a sleeve (not shown), for examplebeing made of a transparent plastics material or cardboard. Thisimproves the efficiency of the device since the sleeve assists inmaintaining the connection between the lip of the insert and lip of thecover thereby preventing the insert from being fully removed from thecover. Complete removal of the insert from the cover would result in thedevice being less convenient to use because it would be difficult toplace the insert and the folded sheet back within the cover. It is to beappreciated that the front section of the cover may be provided with thelip for interlocking with the lip provided on the insert.

Yet a further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated inFIGS. 3a to 3 h of the accompanying drawings. The cover 30′ has a frontsection 32′, a rear section 34′ and a lip 38′. The lip is provided withan extension, in the form of a strip 68. The combined length of the lipand the strip is substantially equal to that of the front and rearsections. The insert 42′ having the folded sheet 10 adhered thereto isprovided with a slot 50 in the fold line 48′ which separates the lip 44′from the rectangular section. The slot is dimensioned to allow the strip68 of the cover to slide therethrough.

In operation, the insert may be pulled outwardly to expose the contentsof the folded sheet but is prevented from becoming completely free ofthe cover by the provision of the retaining lip 38′ and strip 68. Thecover and insert are contained within a plastics sleeve 72 which isdimensioned to assist in retaining the lip of the insert within thecover and to prevent the insert being pulled free of the strip 68.

The strip may alternatively extend from the centre of the cover, thestrip having a tab on its free end. The strip would pass through theslot in the insert to allow movement thereof over the length of thestrip but would be retained thereon by the provision of the end tab.

It is to be appreciated that the cover and/or insert may be providedwith more than one folded sheet, for example as shown in FIG. 4 wherethe insert 80 is provided with an additional flap 82 along one sidethereof having a folded sheet 10 adhered thereto. The sheet should becomposed of a paper which is sufficiently thin to be folded and insertedwithin the cover and/or sleeve but which retains fold lines to allowrepeated folding and unfolding thereof. The internal resistance of thecover and insert is also important, the cardboard or plastics materialof the insert and cover should be rigid but also have a degree offlexibility. The sleeve should also impart some resistance to preventthe cover and insert being easily removed therefrom. In this respect,the dimensions of the sleeve relative to the insert and cover areimportant to ensure that the lips thereof remain interlocked.

Additionally, the insert may be provided with a retaining edge along twoor more sides thereof for mating with corresponding retaining edgesprovided on the rear section of the cover.

The cover and/or sleeve: provides means for holding onto the articlewhilst the insert is removed. Holding onto the cover/sleeve assists inpreventing complete removal of the insert since the front and rearsections of the cover are pushed together thereby maintaining theconnection between the lips of the cover and insert.

The cover and the insert may be supplied without the folded sheet, beingprovided with a double-sided adhesive for attachment of a folded sheetcontaining the required information. Alternatively, an insert may besupplied with a folded sheet attached thereto for replacement of aninsert supplied with a cover and/or sleeve. Advertising or otherinformation may also be displayed on the front and/or back of coverand/or the sleeve.

It is to be appreciated that the folded sheet may have more or lessfolds than the sheet hereinbefore described, the number of folds beingdefined by the number of longitudinal and transverse crease linesprovided in the sheet.

FIGS. 5a to 5 d of the accompanying drawings illustrate an alternativeembodiment of a storage information device according to the presentinvention. The cover 100 is again comprised of a front section 101 and arear section 103 separated by fold lines 105. The rear section isprovided with two retaining lips 102 which are located on opposite sidesof the rear section, at the free end thereof. An insert 104corresponding to that described in FIGS. 2b and 2 c is provided forplacing between the front and rear sections of the cover, the inserthaving a lip 108 at one end thereof and a tab 106 at the other end.

The insert is placed inside the cover 100 and the cover is retained in asleeve (not shown). The sleeve acts to push the front and rear sectionsof the cover onto the insert and also causes the lips 102 to be pressedagainst the insert. In this manner, the lips 102 act to prevent thecomplete removal of the insert from the cover and sleeve due to the lip108 becoming interlocked with the retaining lips 102.

It is to be appreciated that the lips 102 may also be in the form of acontinuous strip extending across the rear section from opposite sidesthereof and that the retaining lips may be provided on the front sectionof the cover instead of the rear section.

An alternative mechanism for attaching a folded sheet to an insert forstorage within a cover is illustrated in FIG. 6 of the accompanyingdrawings. A folded sheet 200 is provided (as hereinbefore described)which is attached, for example by means of an adhesive, to a folded card202. This has a front section 202 a to which the sheet is attached and aback section 202 b. The back section is inserted into a wallet 204consisting of two pieces of plastics material which are sealed togetheraround all but one of their sides to allow insertion of the folded card.The wallet is then adhered to an insert 206 for placement in a coverand, optionally, a sleeve. This arrangement allows the card and sheet tobe removed easily from the wallet and be replaced with a new folded cardcarrying a folded sheet which displays different information.

An alternative attachment mechanism for attaching a folded sheet to aninsert for storage within a cover is illustrated in FIGS. 7a to 7 c ofthe accompanying drawings. A folded sheet 210 (as hereinbeforedescribed) is attached to a piece of card or plastics material 211 thatis generally rectangular in plan view and has a tab 215 extending fromone edge thereof. The insert 212 corresponds to that already describedin relation to FIGS. 2b and 2 c, having a lip 216 at one end and a tab218 at the other end, but in addition is provided with a rectangularslot 220 and die-cut pocket 222 through the rectangular section thereof.The slot and die-cut product are positioned at spaced apart locations onthe rectangular section such that the tab 215 of the material attachedto the folded sheet may be inserted through the slot 220 and the leadingedge of the material may be secured behind the flap formed by thedie-cut pocket 222. This enables the folded sheet to be easily fixed toand removed from the insert 212.

A further embodiment of an information storage device according to thepresent invention is illustrated in FIGS. 8a to 8 e of the accompanyingdrawings. A folded sheet 300 (see FIG. 8a) is attached to a piece ofrectangular material 302 having an indented edge forming tabs 304, 306.This is then attached to an insert 308 having a lip 310, a slot 312 anda die-cut pocket 314, the tabs of the material 302 being held within theinsert by the provision of the lip 310 of the insert and the leadingedge of the material being slotted behind the tab formed by the die-cutpocket 314. A retaining strap 316 of material having a narrow section316 a, a wider middle section 316 b and flange 316 c is passed throughthe slot 312 in the insert and the insert, strap and folded sheet arepassed through flaps 318 provided on opposing sides of the cover 320(see FIG. 8e). The narrow section 316 a of the retaining strap is theninserted through the slot 322 provided along the fold line of the frontand rear section of the cover and is bent over to prevent the strapcoming free from the slot. The whole assembly may then be inserted intoa sleeve (not shown) to allow movement of the insert outwardly to exposethe folded sheet but prevent the complete removal of the insert from thecover due to retaining strap 316.

Alternatively, the flaps 318 may extend along the entire length of thecover with the end of the strap being passed through a slot and backinto the cover to provide an integral storage device that does notrequire a sleeve (not shown).

FIGS. 9a and 9 b of the accompanying drawings show a further embodimentof an information storage device according to the present invention. Afolded sheet 400 having information displayed thereon is again attachedto a rectangular piece of material 410 having a tab 412 extending fromone side thereof (as described in relation to FIG. 7a). This forms thefirst part of the information storage device. The second part is in theform of a cover 414 comprising a front section 414 a and a rear section414 b separated by fold lines 415. A piece of material 416 is attachedto the inner surface of the rear section 414 b and has a slot 418 anddie-cut pocket 420. These allow the first part of the storage device tobe attached to the cover 414 by inserting the tab 412 into the slot 418and placing the leading edge of the material 410 behind the tab formedby the die-cut pocket 420 (as indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 9a and 9b). In this manner, the first part may be removed from the second partand replaced with a new first part displaying different informationthereon.

It is to be appreciated that the components of the information storagedevice may be made of any suitable material or mixture of materials. Forexample, the insert may be made of polyvinylchloride and the cover maybe made of polypropylene to produce durable components for the device.

FIGS. 10a and 10 b of the drawings show an alternative cover forreceiving an information carrier. The cover 600 is formed of arectangular piece of material having fold lines 602 separating the coverinto a front section 600 a and a rear section 600 b. The rear section600 b is provided with a die-cut pocket 604 therethrough which isprovided at a location such that the leading edge of the front section600 a may be inserted behind the tab formed by the die-cut pocket toclose the cover (see FIG. 10b).

What is claimed is:
 1. An information storage device comprising: a firstpart on which information is stored; and a second part comprising aholder for the first part whereby the first part may be stored in saidsecond part; wherein the first part is in the form of an insert having atab extending from an edge thereof and an edge opposite said tab, andthe second part is provided with a slot therethrough and a die-cutpocket forming a tab, wherein said slot and said die-cut pocket arelocated on said second part at positions that correspond with a locationof said tab of the insert and with said edge of said insert oppositesaid tab of said insert, respectively, wherein the insert is attachableto the second part by insertion of the tab of the insert into the slotand said opposing edge of said insert into said die-cut pocket,respectively.
 2. An information storage device as claimed in claim 1,wherein the folded sheet is provided by a sheet having a plurality oftransverse an longitudinal fold lines whereby the sheet may be foldedand unfolded between a compact and expanded state, the folded sheetbeing dimensioned to fit within the second part in the compact state. 3.An information storage device as claimed in claim 2, wherein informationis displayed on the insert.
 4. An information storage device as claimedin claim 3, wherein a folded sheet is attached to the insert, the sheethaving information displayed thereon.
 5. An information storage deviceas claimed in claim 4, wherein the folded sheet is detachable from theinsert.
 6. An information storage device as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe second part is in the form of a cover having a front section and arear section separated by a centre fold line to provide a pocket forreceiving said first part.
 7. An information storage device as claimedin claim 6, wherein one of said front section and said rear section isprovided with a die-cut pocket forming a tab for retaining a leadingedge of the other section thereby effecting closure of the cover.